Fresh Fish Made Easy

By Mark Romanack

The author isn’t completely giving up “fried fish”
but moving forward he’s going to open his
mindset to include grilling and steaming
fish more often.

Not long ago I had my annual check up at the doctor. Seems my cholesterol is a touch high and 50+ years of abuse is starting to take a toll. My doctor gave me a printed out diet to adhere to and to my horror “fried fish” wasn’t on the approved menu! What the heck??

Okay, if fried fish is no longer in my diet, what about grilling and steaming my favorite fish? Turns out, fish cooked without the luxury of a pan full of grease actually tastes good too! Amazing isn’t it?

GRILLING BASICS
Since I’m no stranger to the BBQ grill, cooking my fish over charcoal seemed like a logical place to make some overdue changes in my diet. It’s amazing what a fresh fillet coated with a little lemon pepper, a touch of margarine and lots of lemon or lime juice can taste so wonderful. 

I like to get my fire going then set my attention to washing and drying the fish fillet. Next I season to taste and place a couple sheets of aluminum foil directly over the fire. The fish goes on top of the foil and I squeeze on a liberal amount of lemon or lime juice.

Grilled fish like these brown trout fillets are easy to cook on a charcoal grill
or over an open fire and they hit the table with that awesome smokey flavor.

The cover on the grill is closed and in just a few minutes the fish is flaky and ready for the table. Grilling fish over charcoal or a gas grill is so easy anyone can master this cooking strategy the first time out.

I try not to flip the fish over because the fillet is going to break into pieces. One trick I do recommend is using a fork to poke holes in the aluminum foil so the grease can drain off and so that smoky flavor can work its magic.

STEAMING FISH 
Another simple way to cook fresh fish is by steaming in aluminum foil. This can be accomplished over a charcoal grill, gas grill, open fire or your home oven. 

Steaming just about any species of fish is a great way to create a tasty 

and healthy meal. Double or triple wrap the fish in foil and flip it once or 

twice during the cooking process. Spice it up and make it a little less 

zesty to taste. There is simply no wrong way to steam cook fresh fish.

I start with a freshly washed fillet and pat it dry using paper towels. Next the fillet is laid on a couple layers of aluminum foil and seasoned using any number of options ranging from zippy cajun spice to a more mild herb and garlic mix. The fillet is then covered with a few sweet onion slices, a little fresh or canned tomatoes, some sweep pepper slices, a couple lemon slices and a couple spoons of butter or margarine.

The whole mix is wrapped up tight in the aluminum foil and popped onto the heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, flipping once or twice. This simple recipe can be used with virtually any fish species. I’ve come to the conclusion that a rock bass on a steady diet of snails would taste good cooked like this!

SUMMING IT UP
I’ve been better about not eating so much fried fish lately. Thankfully I don’t have to cut back on the amount of fish I’m eating, just the amount of oil it bathes in! Who knew that life after fried fish is good?